Lee Mingwei: Li, Gifts and Rituals

Rituals of giving and receiving: three decades of Lee Mingwei’s performative transformations of the everyday

Born in Taiwan in 1964 and currently living in Paris and New York City, Lee Mingwei creates participatory installations where strangers can explore issues of trust, intimacy and self-awareness, and one-on-one events where visitors contemplate these issues with the artist through eating, sleeping, walking and conversation. Lee's projects are often open-ended scenarios for everyday interaction, and may change during the course of an exhibition.

The artist’s solo exhibition at Gropius Bau in Berlin showcases his installations and performances from the last three decades. In fall 2019, the artist put out an open call for Berlin-based hosts to activate several of his projects. Thus, in The Living Room hosts are invited to exhibit their unique collections; in The Mending Project the menders host conversations with visitors whilst repairing their damaged items of clothing.

This catalog is designed as a book block without a bound cover, housed in a transparent jacket.